Ramiro Barberena

National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Instituto Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Básicas (ICB), UNCUYO, Faculty Member

Universidad Católica de Temuco, Centro de Investigación, Innovación y Creación (CIIC-UCT), Adjunct

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I’m an archaeologist studying past hunter-gatherers and agropastoral societies from the Andes (Argentina and Chile). I develop an interdisciplinary approach connecting human niche construction and landscape modification, and human life-histories at multiple scales. As part of a collaborative net, I work with strontium, carbon and nitrogen isotopes, human and environmental DNA, rock art, archaeobotany, and geoarchaeology. I seek to situate the Andes in a comparative framework.
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Soy arqueólogo y estudio sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras y agropastoriles en los Andes del sur (Argentina y Chile). Desarrollo un enfoque interdisciplinario que conecta la construcción de nichos y modificación del paisaje con historias de vida humanas en múltiples escalas. Como parte de una red colaborativa, trabajo con isótopos de estroncio, carbono y nitrógeno, ADN humano y ambiental arte rupestre, arqueobotánica y geoarqueología. Me interesa situar a los Andes en un marco comparativo de análisis.
Supervisors: Luis Alberto Borrero

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Strontium isoscapes for provenance, mobility and migration: the way forward

Strontium isotopes (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) are increasingly used as a provenance tool in multiple discipli... more Strontium isotopes (87 Sr/ 86 Sr) are increasingly used as a provenance tool in multiple disciplines. Application to biological materials requires knowledge of the variation in bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr across the landscape, potentially in the form of an isoscape (a quantitative model of spatial isotopic variability). This paper summarizes and provides advice on our current understanding of the main concerns in creating and interpreting isoscapes of bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. Isoscape creation approaches include domain mapping, geostatistical contour mapping and machine learning, the last becoming more readily achievable with the availability of software packages. It is critically important to develop isoscapes at a resolution appropriate for addressing the research questions. Choice of sample materials depends on the research questions and availability: plants or fauna with small ranges are favoured, with some analytes (snails, soil leachates) posing challenges. Interpreting 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in biological tissues requires considering Sr metabolism and the timing of tissue formation, thus far underappreciated. The numerous sources of error involved in developing and applying isoscapes must be recognized to avoid over-interpreting data and spurious provenance precision. We hope this paper will help researchers investigating provenance, mobility, landscape use and migration to develop the most appropriate isoscapes for their purposes, and possible future use by others.

Ramiro Barberena

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